The complete book: The Tetragrammaton and the
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Chapter 4: A Greek Interlinear Study (Part
2)

In Chapter 3, we introduced a study of the word
Kyrios (Κύριος) from the
Christian Greek Scriptures. The study specifically evaluates the
237 instances in which the New World Translation renders
Kyrios as Jehovah.

In this chapter we will complete the study with
particular attention to the "J" footnote nomenclature given in
the Kingdom Interlinear Translation.

The "J" reference footnotes

The Kingdom Interlinear Translation gives
interesting reference and footnote material for each occurrence
of the divine name. We are particularly interested in the
footnote form and references for two types of information: first,
specific ancient Greek manuscript sources and, secondly, later
Hebrew versions. For example, the interlinear portion at Matthew
1:24 reads:

In the right hand margin, the New World Translation
reads:

24 Then Joseph woke up from his sleep and did
as the angel of Jehovah* had directed him, and he took his wife
home.

Because the divine name is used, footnote "24*"
is added at the bottom of the page.[1] The footnote
reads:

24* Jehovah, J1-4,7-14,16-18,22-24; Lord,
ÅB.

[1] The center column of the New World
Translation Reference Edition refers the reader to Appendix
1D which gives only the Hebrew version information. In Appendix
1D, the Hebrew translations J1-4,7-14,16-18,22-24
are cited though the Greek manuscripts ÅB are
not.

A description of all Greek manuscript and "J"
symbols is included under the heading EXPLANATION OF THE SYMBOLS
USED in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation. The
approximate date in which the Greek manuscripts were written and
the publication date of the Hebrew translations are given. For
the sake of brevity within the recorded information for the study
itself, we only cite the earliest or most concise textual
references.[2] That is, in the case of the Hebrew
translations, we will cite the publication date of the earliest
entry given. In the case of the Greek manuscripts cited, we will
give the date range of only the oldest manuscript identified in
the footnote. (The complete list of Greek manuscripts and Hebrew
translations cited within the Kingdom Interlinear
Translation is summarized in Appendix A.)

[2] The earliest "J" document used in this
verse is J2 which bears a date of 1385. Because
J2, J3, and J4 are all related
documents, it is clearer to use J7 for this
illustration. (J7 is the earliest complete Hebrew
version.) In the main study, however, the date from the
earliest manuscript is always the date given.

The Matthew 1:24 footnote cites 18 Hebrew
translations and two Greek manuscripts. For the sake of
illustration, we will look at two of these entries. The Hebrew
translation J7 and the Greek manuscript Å (Aleph)
Sinaitic MS are explained on pages 26 and 29 of the Kingdom
Interlinear Translation, 1969 edition, as
follows:[3]

J7

Greek Scripturesin Hebrew. In
1599 Elias Hutter of Nuremberg, Germany, published his
translation of all the Christian Greek Scriptures into Hebrew.
This was the first complete Hebrew version of all the canonical
Christian Greek Scriptures, forming a part of Hutter's
Polyglott New Testament of 1599. (A copy is found at the
New York Public Library.)

Å (Aleph)

Sinaitic MS. An uncial Greek
manuscript of the 4th century in codex form. Originally it
evidently contained the whole Bible, including all the
Christian Greek Scriptures. It is at present possessed by the
British Museum, London, England.

The footnotes in the Kingdom Interlinear
Translation are concise and easy to read, though a basic
understanding of their format is first necessary. The footnote
reading "24* Jehovah, J1-4,7-14,16-18,22-24; Lord,
ÅB." contains the following information. The "24*" refers to
the asterisk after Jehovah in verse 24. Following the
verse identification, the word Jehovah indicates the list
of documents which support the use of the divine name in the
New World Translation. The documents are given as J1
4,7-14,16-18,22-24. This tells us that the Hebrew
translations J1, J2, J3,
J4, and each of J7 to J14,
J16 to J18, and J22 to
J24 all contain the Tetragrammaton in this verse. The
footnote then cites two Greek manuscripts identified by the
Kingdom Interlinear Translation which substantiate
Kyrios (Lord) for this same verse. The Greek
manuscripts are Å (Aleph) Sinaitic MS and B
(Vatican Manuscript No. 1209).

The reader should be aware that the Greek
manuscripts used as footnote references in the Kingdom
Interlinear Translation are merely representative of a select
few early examples. We have already referred to the statement on
page 319 of "All Scripture Is Inspired of God and
Beneficial," which tells us that over 5,000 Greek manuscripts
of the Christian Scriptures exist. The Watch Tower Society does
not document any of these Greek texts as using the Tetragrammaton
rather than Kyrios.[4]

[4] The Watch Tower Society documents
occurrences of the Tetragrammaton in only the Septuagint. See
Appendix 1c, New World Translation Reference
Edition.

A brief comment regarding version citations is
in order. The Kingdom Interlinear Translation footnotes
also include citations of ancient versions (Christian Scripture
translations into Latin, Syriac or other early languages) in
support of Lord. This is a common and useful practice
within ancient textual studies. Even though the version is not a
Greek text, it can be a valuable resource in determining the
original wording of the Greek text. The case for the
Tetragrammaton as against Kyrios serves as a useful
illustration.

The Latin Vulgate by Jerome is one of the
citations frequently used in the Kingdom Interlinear
Translation in support of Lord. (It is identified as
Vg.) The Latin word used by Jerome gives an indication of the
reading of the Greek text he used for his translation. Since
Jerome originally published his Vulgate in 400 C.E., his
Greek text was from this date or earlier. Had the Greek text
contained the Tetragrammaton, Jerome would have either
transcribed the Hebrew letters or translated the divine name into
Latin. On the other hand, if the Greek text used the word
Kyrios, Jerome would have translated it as Dominus.
In either case, an early version gives strong indication-though
not proof-of the Greek words used in early manuscripts.

Manuscript dates in the Jehovah footnotes

The Jehovah footnotes also direct us to
meaningful information regarding manuscript dates.

By this point in the book, the reader must be
aware that the age of a manuscript is of great importance. The
axiom, "Older is better" is seldom more appropriate than in
biblical manuscript studies. This is true because older
manuscripts are closer in time to the original inspired
Scriptures than more recent manuscripts.[5]

[5] However, this statement recognizes the
qualifications made in Chapter 2 under the heading "Inspiration
and a correct text."

A careful review of any given Jehovah
footnote reveals an interesting comparison of textual dates.
Revelation 4:11 is one of the important Jehovah verses.
Later in this book, we will return to this verse. For now,
however, it will give us an important illustration of the
manuscript writing (or publication) date available
from the footnotes.

The verse appears in the Kingdom Interlinear
Translation as follows:

The New World Translation quoted in the
right hand margin translates the verse:

11 "You are worthy, Jehovah,* even our God, to
receive the glory and the honor and the power, because you
created all things, and because of your will they existed and
were created."

At the bottom of the page, the Jehovah footnote
is given:

11* Jehovah, J7,8,13,14,16,18; Lord,
ÅAVgSyh.

The "11*" verse footnote lists six Hebrew
versions (J7,8,13,14,16,18) which substantiate
Jehovah, and two early Greek manuscripts (A Sinaitic
MS and A Alexandrine MS) and two versions (the
Latin Vulgate and a Syriac version) which substantiate
Lord. Though the dates of the various versions and
manuscripts are not given in the footnote itself, we can acquire
this information from the section entitled EXPLANATION OF THE
SYMBOLS USED in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation where
the publication dates of 1599, 1661, 1838, 1846, 1866, and 1885
C.E. respectively are given for these Hebrew versions. The early
Greek manuscripts are dated from the fourth and fifth centuries
(300 to 499 C.E.) and the two versions are given dates of 405 and
464 C.E. respectively.

As a further illustration of the information
given in the footnotes, it will be helpful to identify each of
the references given for both the Tetragrammaton and Lord
in this verse. They are listed by reference symbol,
identification of the version or Greek manuscript, and by date as
listed in the introductory material in the Kingdom Interlinear
Translation. In Table 1, we start with the information listed
for various versions of the Greek Scriptures translated into
Hebrew, each of which uses the Tetragrammaton.

[6] The number of references to Kyrios
(or Lord) passages are fewer in the Kingdom
Interlinear Translation only because the editors have
chosen to cite so few of the existing Greek manuscripts
available today. These manuscripts are uniform in their use of
Kyrios (or Theos) rather than the Tetragrammaton.
The United Bible Societies' Christian Greek Scripture textual
apparatus (see the Bibliography for the Textual Commentary
on the Greek New Testament), which shows all textual
variants in cited Greek manuscripts, was consulted for each of
the 237 Jehovah references. This volume lists all major
Greek Scripture manuscript variations from which translators
must choose. The following tabulation was made for each of the
Jehovah references. Seventy one of the 237 references
are specifically discussed in this textual apparatus. The
presence of the Tetragrammaton is never mentioned for any of
these 71 verses, and is therefore not considered as a textual
variant in any known Greek manuscript. Further, because
the remaining 166 references are not mentioned, we are assured
that no basis for textual variants exists in any of the 237
Jehovah references. A discussion of Kyrios
(Κύριος) [Lord] and Theos (qevo")
[God] as the choice for the specific verse occurs 31 times. The
discussion of the textual preference for Kyrios at
Revelation 18:8 and 19:6 is particularly noteworthy, and should
be consulted.

The Kingdom Interlinear Translation cites
six Hebrew version sources for Revelation 4:11. The date of the
earliest version is 1599 C.E., while the latest version is dated
1885 C.E. By way of contrast, two Greek manuscripts of the fourth
and fifth centuries (301-400 C.E., and 401-500 C.E. respectively)
are cited for this verse in support of the Greek word
Kyrios.

A frequent oversight

It is easy to lose sight of small but
significant details when dealing with a research project. For
several years in his own research, the author overlooked the
importance of the discrepancy in dates between the Hebrew
versions and the Greek manuscripts.

Consider what these dates tell us. The
translators of the New World Translation chose to use the
divine name in 237 select verses on the basis of supporting
evidence from Hebrew translations of 1385 C.E. and later. By way
of contrast, the earliest evidence available for the Greek word
Kyrios (Lord), referred to in the Kingdom
Interlinear Translation's footnotes, was from reliable Greek
manuscripts dating as early as 300 C.E.

The new understanding we now have of textual and
historical information which has come to light since the
translation of the Christian Scriptures of the New World
Translation forces us to ask an important question. Why are
Hebrew translations published in 1385 C.E. and later considered
to be more reliable textual sources for the Christian Scriptures
than the Christian Scriptures themselves which can be verified to
the third or fourth century C.E. with approximately 5,000
manuscripts?

A summary of our study

It is time to summarize the data from our study.
This information is taken from the complete study recorded in
Appendix B and the summary at its conclusion. Reference is also
made to the original study of the 714 Kyrios references
reproduced in Appendix C.

The New World Translation uses the divine
name Jehovah 237 times in the Christian Greek Scriptures.
The summary of each of these instances according to the footnotes
in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation is as follows:

Total occurrences of the name Jehovah in NWT

237

Occurrences quoted from
Hebrew Scriptures

112[7]

Occurrences without a
Hebrew Scripture source

125[8]

Corresponding
Greek word in Kingdom Interlinear Translation

Kyrios (Κύριος)

223

Theos
(θεός)

13

Other
(James 1:12)

1

Corresponding
English word in Kingdom Interlinear Translation

For
Kyrios (Κύριος)

Lord

For
Theos (θεός)

God

Other
(James 1:12)

he

Date range of Hebrew Translations supporting
יהוה

1385 to 1979 C.E.

Date range of manuscripts supporting
Κύριος

200 to 400 C.E.[9]

[7] This includes 92 quotations in which the
divine name is directly found in the Hebrew Scripture verse,
and 20 references in which the divine name is clearly used in
the context but is not found in the verse itself. (The 92
references include 42 definitive citations from
J20.) In all cases, however, the entire number of
112 instances are to be regarded as a proper quotation of the
divine name.

[8] The total of 125 instances in which the
divine name appears in verses which are not quotations of
Hebrew Scripture references includes 58 instances in which the
New World Translation Reference Edition cross reference
indicates a Hebrew Scripture passage as a subject--or
parallel--thought reference and six instances in which the
cross reference merely includes other subjects related to the
Christian Greek Scripture verse. This leaves a total of 61
instances in which the name Jehovah appears in the Greek
Scriptures of the New World Translation in which there
is no cross reference source of any kind to a Hebrew Scripture
quotation source.

[9] All six instances at the Gospel of John
and two instances at Luke are dated by "All Scripture Is
Inspired of God and Beneficial," (1983 edition, p. 312) as
early as circa 200 C.E. Each of the three instances at 1 Peter,
the six instances at 2 Peter, the three instances at Jude, and
four instances at Revelation are dated--by the same
source--between 201 and 300 C.E.

For the sake of evaluation, it is of interest to
compare the above information with the total occurrences of the
word Kyrios in the entire Christian Greek Scriptures. The
following summary information is derived from the comprehensive
study of the word Kyrios found in Appendix C and evaluates
the English translation of the Greek word in both the Kingdom
Interlinear Translation and the New World
Translation.

Kingdom Interlinear
Translation

Kyrios translated
as Lord.

651

Kyrios translated
as lord or lords.

62

Kyrios translated
as Lords.

1

Total occurrences of
Kyrios (Κύριος) in
KIT.

714

New World Translation

Kyrios translated
as Lord[10].

406

Kyrios translated
as Jehovah.

223

Kyrios translated
as Master, master, or masters.

53

Kyrios translated
as Sir, sir, or sirs.

17

Kyrios translated
as lord.

8

Kyrios translated
as owner or owners.

5

Kyrios translated
as God.

1

Kyrios not
translated.

1

Total representation of Kyrios
(Κύριος) in NWT.

714

[10] Initial capital letters for "Lord" (in
both KIT and NWT) or "Master," and "Sir" (in NWT) do not
necessarily indicate reference to Jesus. In a small number of
cases, the word occurs at the beginning of a sentence (in
English) or the beginning of a direct quotation (in Greek). In
these cases, the grammatical structure of the respective
sentences requires a capital letter.

It is particularly interesting to note the
variety of English words used by the New World Translation
for the 714 occurrences of the word Kyrios throughout the
Christian Greek Scriptures. However, since we are primarily
concerned with the English words Lord and Jehovah,
we will confine our comments to these two words.

A simple evaluation of the material from
Appendix C indicates that Lord is the preferred
translation choice for Kyrios in the New World
Translation. It appears as Lord 406 times. With only
rare exceptions as noted, these 406 occurrences are references to
Jesus Christ. The reader is encouraged to carefully study the
material in Appendix C, paying particular attention to John's use
of the word in the book of Revelation. John uses the Greek word
Kyrios 23 times in which the Kingdom Interlinear
Translation gives the English translation as Lord 20
times and as lord(s) three times. On the other hand, the
New World Translation gives the English translation as
Jehovah 12 times, as Lord eight times, and as
lord(s) three times.

Making the study personal

This book is a study of textual and historical
information. Consequently, it is appropriate that a synopsis
expressing the author's personal conclusions from his own
research be given. At this point, however, a misapplication of
the information-gathering process often follows.

Some will read the information just given with a
positive bias. Because they are predisposed to
agree with the author, they will pronounce the information
as trustworthy and will accept its veracity with no further
personal study.

Their response is faulty. An author's
conclusions do not make the information true. The conclusions
must be verified against the factual foundation of the study. In
all probability, neither time nor resources permit the reader to
examine every document used in the original research. But a
careful study of the information given in the Kingdom
Interlinear Translation should be conducted by the reader
before endorsing the author's conclusions.

In this regard, the information in Appendices A,
B, and C should be carefully examined by consulting the actual
text of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation. When all
information has been verified, then the reader may safely form
his own conclusions without depending on the author's opinion.
With this degree of verification by the reader, the information
the author gives merely supplements the information-gathering
process of the reader, and the conclusions formed become those of
the reader himself.

On the other hand, others will read this same
information with a disapproving bias. Because this second
group of readers may have a predisposition to disagree
with the author, they will likely pronounce the information as
inaccurate and may dismiss its possible merit without further
study.

Their response is also faulty. In all
likelihood, this second group of readers will also have
insufficient time or resources to duplicate the entire research
done by the author. This group of readers, however, must
carefully examine the footnote references in the Kingdom
Interlinear Translation. Again, the final conclusion must
result from a personal study of the primary data rather than from
a hasty response to the author's statements.

Either group of readers will profit from the
empirical content of this study. By design, this study is not
based on an interpretation of Scripture. It is based on
historical and textual data. (We certainly understand, however,
that history and biblical manuscript studies can be distorted.)
Ancient Greek manuscripts exist today which can be examined for
their content. Do these manuscripts contain
יהוה or
Κύριος? This is the question each
reader must ultimately determine for himself.

At this point, the reader would profit greatly
by temporarily laying this book aside in order to do a careful
personal study of each Jehovah footnote in the Kingdom
Interlinear Translation. Even better, a complete search of
the 714 Kyrios passages including each Jehovah footnote
reference would give the reader a valuable insight into the use
of this word in the Christian Scriptures. Appendices B and C can
be used to obtain verse locations, but the conclusions should be
the reader's. With Jehovah God's help, the reader may draw his
own conclusions regarding the presence of the Tetragrammaton
within the Christian Greek Scriptures.[11]

[11] For some, this may be difficult because
of inexperience with personal Bible research. If this is the
case, the following suggestion may be helpful. Do a personal
study of the footnotes for each of the 237 Jehovah
references in the New World Translation, looking for
evidence of the Tetragrammaton in the Christian Greek
Scriptures. You only need the New World Translation
Reference Edition and the Kingdom Interlinear
Translation. (No knowledge of the Greek language is
necessary for this study. You will merely be identifying a form
of Κύριος or
θεός which is always written over the
English world Lord or God.) The Reference Edition
gives you the 237 Jehovah references in Appendix 1D (on
page 1565) and ample cross reference material for the Hebrew
Scripture quotations in the center column. The Kingdom
Interlinear Translation gives you the complete "J" footnote
and the explanation of the nomenclature and dates for each
Greek manuscript and Hebrew version. Be certain to read the
foreword material in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation
before starting your study. Establish the columns for data
which you feel are necessary for your own particular study and
enter the material from each of the 237 Jehovah references in
the appropriate column. You could duplicate some or all of the
10 headings used in Appendix B. However, you may wish to
simplify the information you enter in your personal study. (For
example, you may not wish to identify J20 quotations
since not all citations of Hebrew quotations are found in the
"J" references.) However, once you have started your study,
make it your own. Do not merely copy Appendix B. (After you
have started your study, do not even consult Appendix B until
you are completely finished!) Do not be concerned if your study
differs from the results in this book. In many cases such as
Hebrew Scripture quotations, there are a number of possible
verse references from which you may choose, inasmuch as the
verse--or parallel thought--may appear in numerous Hebrew
Scripture references. Whatever you do, make it your own
personal study.

On this note we close this chapter, but look
ahead to the remainder of the book. Neither accept nor reject the
forthcoming information on the basis of what you think the
correct answer should be. Whenever possible, directly evaluate
the primary sources of information for yourself and then draw
your own conclusion regarding the place of the Tetragrammaton in
the inspired Christian Greek Scriptures.

Chapter Summary. The footnote information supplied with
each Jehovah reference in the Kingdom Interlinear
Translation leads to the following conclusions:

In all 237 Jehovah references found in the New
World Translation, the Kingdom Interlinear
Translation gives two sets of dates. The earliest dates
verify that Kyrios ( Lord) was in all Greek
manuscripts between 301 and 400 C.E. The later dates support
the Tetragrammaton in Hebrew versions dated 1385 C.E. and
following.

In most instances outside of the 237 Jehovah
references, the Greek word Kyrios (when used as a
title) is identified with the person of Jesus Christ by the
New World Translation. (Kyrios is translated as
Lord 406 times. See Appendix C for further
explanation.)

The suitability of the Tetragrammaton for the 237 Jehovah
passages is derived only from later Hebrew translations. The
earliest supporting evidence comes from 1385 C.E., with the
bulk of the evidence coming from 1599 C.E. and later. In
fact, no direct textual evidence showing the Tetragrammaton
in the original Christian Greek Scriptures is given by the
Watch Tower Society.

The translators of the New World Translation used
the word Jehovah rather than Lord in 237
selected references. Thus, 26 Hebrew versions dating from
1385 C.E. are given more importance than are the
approximately 5,000 Greek manuscripts, dating from the fourth
century C.E., which use the word Lord.